Tank builder KNDS presents more firepower on wheels

Armor - Tank builder KNDS presents more firepower on wheels

With a fully automated and also shooting artillery howitzer, KNDS promises the German military and other forces advantages on the battlefield. Additionally, the new artillery system is expected to require only two soldiers as crew.

"That's the minimum, and it's also operationally feasible. Essentially, it's the driver and the gun commander," said Till von Westerman, responsible for the combat systems business unit at KNDS in Germany, to the German Press Agency at the training ground Altengrabow in Sachsen-Anhalt. The weapons system RCH 155 was presented there on Wednesday and Thursday.

KNDS is a merger of the German traditional company KMW and the French defense company Nexter and also produces the tracked self-propelled howitzer 2000. This is introduced in several NATO armies and has a crew of five. The system - a heavy gun on a tracked armored vehicle - allows for highest terrain mobility. However, an increased effort is required for transport with the railway or on flatbed trucks over longer distances. On the other hand, the new self-propelled howitzer can be driven to the target with a speed of 100 km/h.

Developers see many advantages

The developers point out several advantages for the system, with the first customer being Ukraine. The howitzer can shoot without preparation and in all directions immediately. The gun turret is remotely controllable and can be steered from outside. More importantly, the self-propelled howitzer can shoot from the moving vehicle. The challenge is to compensate for the vehicle's movements in the gun mount and still hit the target safely. The howitzer can therefore shoot significantly more overall. The factor is three to four times. And the crew avoids counter-attacks on their last firing position with their movement.

"The main enemy of our own artillery is the enemy artillery," says von Westerman about that. Artillery crews with good systems manage to place counter-fire in just two minutes. "But if they drive, they have moved about two thousand meters from their last firing position in two minutes and are hardly reachable by the enemy artillery anymore. That significantly increases their survival probability."

If modern, steerable ammunition ("end-guided artillery ammunition") is used, the advantage over the enemy increases. According to the company's own simulation, a unit with these howitzers could withstand a - in terms of the number of tanks - fivefold superior enemy. The overall package has the potential to change warfare.

Testing in combat next year

The self-propelled howitzers have a combat weight of around 39 tons and can shoot de facto over 50 kilometers with currently available ammunition. Nine rounds per minute are possible. Currently, ammunition is being developed that will soon be able to shoot up to 70 kilometers, later also up to 100 kilometers. As a base price, approximately 10 million Euros are mentioned, but the individual costs in the defense market depend significantly on the ordered quantity and the overall package.

In the coming year, Ukraine is expected to receive the first of the new self-propelled howitzers. A total of around 54 of these weapons systems are reportedly being prepared for delivery. They may then be introduced into a relatively static battle situation at a front that is reportedly fortified, according to von Westerman. "There is a death strip there, similar to the First World War, but it's not a few hundred meters deep, but rather over 10 to 15 kilometers," he says. Long-range artillery is then said to be the decisive factor. He explains: "For the Ukrainians, this could be a decisive moment, to seize the initiative again. It's just an element, but it could be a decisive element."

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1. The German defense company KNDS, located in Saxony-Anhalt, has developed a fully automated shooting artillery howitzer that promises advantages for the German military and other armed forces.
2. The new artillery system, known as the RCH 155, requires only two soldiers as crew, with Till von Westerman, responsible for the combat systems business unit at KNDS, emphasizing that it's the driver and the gun commander.
3. KNDS is a merger of the German traditional company KMW and the French defense company Nexter, also producing the tracked self-propelled howitzer 2000 with a crew of five.
4. In Ukraine, the howitzer can shoot without preparation and in all directions immediately, with the gun turret being remotely controllable and capable of being steered from outside.
5. The defense industry sees many advantages in the new self-propelled howitzer, with developers pointing out that it can shoot significantly more overall due to its mobility and the ability to shoot from a moving vehicle.
6. The tank builder KNDS is working on increasing the range of the ammunition, aiming to shoot up to 100 kilometers, and the self-propelled howitzers are expected to be delivered to Ukraine in the coming year.
7. The German Armed Forces are interested in the new artillery system, as the ability to shoot from a moving vehicle and high-range ammunition could significantly increase the survival probability of artillery crews and change the course of warfare.

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